Im thinking of updating my sails, and one of the things im aware of is that i hardly ever use my 4.2...like maybe once or twice per year (and its more like survival than good waves)...and im on a mission to cut down on stuff!

What is the max size i can put on a Evo 80 and be good to go?
The specs say 6.0...is this borne out of experience by anyone?

And following on, im wondering what would be the best 3 sail quiver for the Evo 80?

FYI
Im 85kg and (try to) sail waves, mainly DTL
Currently i have 4 x 05 Ezzy's: 5.8, 5.2, 4.7 and 4.2
I would say that >70% of my sailing in covered by the larger two.

BTW, Im talking about replacing with 2008 Ezzys here, not another brand (cant afford to replace the masts and im very happy with Ezzy durability in waves)

I think 5.8 or 5.7 is the max sail size where you still happy with . Maybe a 6.0 will fit but it is not optimal and in terms of planing a 6.0 would not bring you more than a good 5.7/5.8 power wave sail.

I've used the EVO 80 even with a 7.0, but I'm light, it was a superlight and very special sail (Hot Superfreak) and it not what you would call an ideal setup.

At your weight, I think 5.8 will be a good max size, especially with Ezzys being so deep drafted. But "max size" is also very individual and probably you could coax a 6.0 in it if you really want to push it. In proper 5.8 will probably be a better fit though.

As for the two smaller one, since you're doing most sailing in the light wind spectrum, I think a 5.2 will give you more tuning option than a 5.0. And with 5.8-5.2 fixed you can choose 4.7 or 4.5 pretty freely. I often travel with 5.3-4.5 and it works out fine for me.

I'l asked Scotty to comment also (he's your weight and obviously has a lot of E80 experience). He might be on the road though, but hang on.

Hi.
I also just bought the EVO 80 2007. The fin that followed the board is 23 cm. This is way to small for carrying 5.7 ?? Im 82 kg. What fin should I buy to use with 5.7? 25 cm. I used a 27 cm fin for the 5.7 on my old JP FSW 83. And I thought this was perfect for 5.7 and also 5.0 in marginal condition. Should I go for a 26 Natural wave fin?

Hi Northy,
I would recommend 5.8, 5.0 and 4.5. You have a small size which keeps you going if the wind is loosing some power. The 5.0 works great in waves with lighter wind. And the 5.8 can bring fun on flat water or chops with lighter winds. Fur sure you also can sail a 6.0 on the 80, but most common sizes are from 5,7 to 4,5.
All the best,
Chris

Hi.
I also just bought the EVO 80 2007. The fin that followed the board is 23 cm. This is way to small for carrying 5.7 ?? Im 82 kg. What fin should I buy to use with 5.7? 25 cm. I used a 27 cm fin for the 5.7 on my old JP FSW 83. And I thought this was perfect for 5.7 and also 5.0 in marginal condition. Should I go for a 26 Natural wave fin?

This question requires a bit of an elaborating answer. EVOs are in a way very tolerant to fin size - you can go big or you can go small depending on what factors of the ride you want to change. Scott McK replied in another thread that he pretty much never uses bigger than Natural 23 on his E80, even with 5.7. This is fine if you are a very good sailor and either ride fast and powered up or maybe are riding very nice waves (possibly schlogging to get out). Personally I tend to use anything from 22-25 Drake Natural on the E80 with sails around 5.7. When conditions are such that I want the float the E80 provides but still will have pretty good speed when riding the wave, I tend to go for smaller to loosen up the board in the top turn. If wave riding speeds are slower and I'm maybe underpowered and/or if I want some more directional feel for jumping I may go bigger.

When you go for a small fin it takes more technique to get planing early and go upwind and vive versa. So I would say its a trade off between immaculate wave riding and "straight line practicality".

Two things make it complicated to reach the perfect compromise by pure trial and error. First, without lots of experience, its hard to pinpoint when one has a to big fin in the wave riding. Second, there are a few little tricks for planing early with an EVO. With a small fin one has to learn them to be effective. With a bigger fin one can get by pretty much without using these tricks, but in the end one will still not be as effective as one could be. Both these issues implies its good to try a comparatively small fin now and then and then go out with a positive attitude and really try to use that smaller fin instead of blaming it for the lack of "positive feedback" in a straightline.

Puh, all that said, most people tend to end up liking the Drake 25 for 5.7. The 26 could work too, but in my opinion its overkill. Even with a super big fin, the EVO will never get the kind of feel that the more freeride oriented JP FSW provides.